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Linguistics 100
Intro to linguistics
128
Other
Undergraduate 1
09/17/2007

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Term
What is language?
Definition
Human instinct
A system with complex structure.
Unique to human
Term
Dialect
Definition
Different varieties of a language
Term
BEV
Definition
Black English Vernacular has negative concord, be delection and habitual be
Term
Pidgin
Definition
Not a real language, has no grammar and has no native speakers, composed of choppy strings of words borrowed from the language of the colonizers plantation owners wtih little or no grammar.
Term
Creole
Definition
When a Pidgin is transfomred into a full complex language
Term
Creolization Example
Definition
Hawaiian Pidgin and Hawaiian Creole
Term
Kivunjo
Definition
Bantu language spoken in Tanzania and expresses a very complex structure of language
Term
LSN
Definition
Lenguaje de Signos Nicaraguense, a sign language and a pidgin with no consistent grammar created in Nicaragua
Term
ISN
Definition
Idioma de Signos Nicaraguense, a creole of LSN
Term
Motherese
Definition
When parents give repetitive drills in simplified speech variety to their children
Term
Overgeneralization
Definition
Errors that children make because they haven't learned how to put -s of 3rd person singular correctly. Yet by just putting 's with it's infinitive form.
Term
Wug-test
Definition
An experiment when the children is shown a bird-like creature called a wug and told to answer the plural form.
Term
Universal Grammar
Definition
Common property or blueprint
Term
Which side of our brain is mostly responsible for language?
Definition
Left
Term
Broca and Wernicke
Definition
Two main language areas in our brain
Term
Broca's aphasia
Definition
A damage in Broca's area and causes people to have a very hard time in getting the speech out.
Term
What is difficult for people suffering Broca's aphasia?
Definition
They can read and understand content words, but they have a very hard time with function words.
Term
Content words
Definition
Nouns and verbs
Term
Function words
Definition
Grammatical words such as subject, prepositions and conjunctions.
Term
Do people suffering Broca's aphasia suffer from other intellectural disabilities or problems with muscle control?
Definition
No
Term
Wernicke's aphasia
Definition
A damage in Wernicke's area and they are very fluent but their speech is meaningless.
Term
What is difficult for people suffering Wernick's aphasia?
Definition
They have difficulty comprehending the speech of others and they express full grammatical sentences with no meaning.
Term
SLI
Definition
Specific Language Impairment, they never fully reach the linguistic ability of normal speaker
Term
What are SLI patients terrible at?
Definition
Wug-test
Term
Do SLI patients have impaired intelligence?
Definition
No. They have normal cognitive ability and they scare a normal range in the nonverbal parts of IQ test.
Term
What is special about SLI?
Definition
It is hereditary and runs in families, suggesting that is is related to certain genetic defect.
Term
Williams Syndrome
Definition
Seem to have a defective gene on chromosome 11 (regulation of calcium)
Term
What are Williams Syndrome people good at?
Definition
They are extremely fluent in conversation but no grammatical structures.
Term
5 things Williams Syndrome patients are bad at?
Definition
They are extremely retarded with an IQ of about 50, they can't tie their shoes, tell left from right, or add two numbers.
Term
Sentences
Definition
Formed by putting words together, according to a certain set of rules.
Term
Ungrammatical
Definition
When rules are violated
Term
A brain has _ capacity.
Definition
Finite. A person cannot memorize an infinite number of possible sentences.
Term
A person has knowledge of _ .
Definition
Grammar
Term
Grammar
Definition
Finite linguistic rules that regulates how to combine a finite set of words to generate an infinite number of sentences.
Term
Do animals have a communication system?
Definition
Yes, just like humans, they have a communication system used to convey information to one another.
Term
Is the animal communication system equally complexed as the human communication system? Why
Definition
No, they are not as complex as the human language because they cannot be segmented into independtely meaningful parts as words of human language can be and cannot be put together to make new phrases with messages.
Term
What is the difference between bird songs and bird calls?
Definition
Bird calls convey messages such as danger, feeding, nesting and flocking. Bird songs are used to stake out territory and attract mates.
Term
Can we say that parrots have learned a language when they produce words or sentences trhough mere imitation?
Definition
No because they're just imitating the sounds.
Term
Phonetics
Definition
Studies the physical nature of speech sounds (articulation, acoustic properties and perceptual characteristics)
Term
Phonology
Definition
Concentrates on the distinctive characteristics of the sounds in a language's sound system.
Term
Morphology
Definition
Structure of word, and how words are formed
Term
Phonemes
Definition
Basic sounds
Term
Morphemes
Definition
Minimal units with meaning
Term
Syntax
Definition
Structure of sentences and how sentences ar eformed.
Term
Semantics
Definition
Interpretation of words or expressions, intermediate phrases and setnences.
Term
Pragmatics
Definition
the meaning of the sentence comes from world knowledge.
Term
Grammatical inflections
Definition
Prefix and suffix
Term
Parts of speech
Definition
Noun, verb, determiner, preposition, adjective, adverb, coordinating conjunction, complementizer
Term
Grammatical relations
Definition
Subject, object, predicate
Term
Psycholinguistics
Definition
Study of how language is represented in the mind, and how it is acquired
Term
Sociolinguistics
Definition
Study of language in social context
Term
Historical linguistics
Definition
Study of how language changes over time
Term
Evolutionary linguistics
Definition
How did language evolve?
Term
Neurolinguistics
Definition
Study of how brain mechanisms underlying the acquisition and use of language
Term
Prescriptive grammar
Definition
Taught in school and explained in style manuals on how one should speak
Term
Descriptive grammar
Definition
A description of a set of rules
Term
Arbitrary
Definition
Property of language, including sign language, whereby there is no natural or intrinsic relationship between the way a word is pronounced (or signed) and its meaning
Term
Form
Definition
Sounds
Term
Meaning
Definition
Concept
Term
Mimetic
Definition
Similar to miming
Term
Iconic
Definition
With a non-arbitrary relationship between form and meaning
Term
Conventional
Definition
Non-related
Term
Sound symbolism
Definition
found in words whose pronunication suggests the meaning
Term
Onomatopoeic
Definition
Sounds of the word imitate sounds of nature
Term
Creative aspect
Definition
Speaker's ability to continue the finite number of linguistic units of their language to produce and understand an infinite range of novel sentences
Term
Linguistic competence
Definition
Difference between what you know
Term
Linguistic performance
Definition
How you use the knowledge is speech production and comprehension
Term
Slips of the tongue
Definition
Stammer, pauses
Term
Linguistic system
Definition
Sounds, structures, meanings, words, rules for conjunction
Term
Grammar
Definition
Sounds and sound patterns, basic units of meaning - words, rules to combine words to form new sentences
Term
Phonology
Definition
Sound system
Term
Semantics
Definition
System of meanings
Term
Morphology
Definition
Rules of word formation
Term
Syntax
Definition
Rules of sentence formation
Term
Lexicon
Definition
Dictionary / vocabulary of words
Term
Mental grammar
Definition
Internalized grammar that a descriptive grammar attempts to model
Term
Descriptive grammar
Definition
Linguist's description is a true model of the speakers' linguistic capacity
Term
Prescriptive grammar
Definition
prescribed rules of grammar
Term
Prestige dialect
Definition
Usually spoken by people in positions of power, and the one deemed correct by precriptive grammarians
Term
Standard dialect
Definition
The dialect (regional or social) considered to be the norm
Term
Linguistic profiling
Definition
Used to discriminate against speakers of a minority dialect
Term
Teaching grammar
Definition
Set of language rules written to help speakers learn a second or foreign language or a different dialect of their language
Term
Reference grammar
Definition
Comprehensive and serve as a reference for those interested in establishing grammatical facts
Term
Universal grammar
Definition
laws that pertain to all human languages, representing the universal properties of language
Term
Language faculty
Definition
Part of human biolgoical and genetic makeup specifically designed for language acquistion and use
Term
Linguistic theory
Definition
A theory of the principles that characterize all human languages; the laws of human language
Term
Sign languages
Definition
Languages used by deaf people
Term
Monogetic theory of language origin
Definition
the belief that all languages originated from a single language
Term
Mentalese
Definition
A language of thought
Term
Language determinism
Definition
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - stating that people's thoughts are determined by the categories made available by their languages
Term
Linguistic relativity
Definition
Weaker version of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - stating that differences among languages cause differences in the thoughts of their speakers. That is, language can have some effect on memory or categorization of the speakers
Term
Edward Sapir
Definition
a Prominent linguist started the study of Native American Languages, proving that these languages are as sophisticated as English
Term
Benjamin Lee Whorf
Definition
A fire inspector who went to study linguistics and Native American languages taking Sapir's classes, took Sapir's theory one step further
Term
Hopi Concept of Time
Definition
Whorf noticed that Hopi does not have inflections for tense on the verb (as in English in -ed to indicate past, walked), concludes that speakers of Hopi don't care about telling the differences between past, present and future, they only care about the process of change itself.
Term
Color Terms
Definition
According to Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, the difference in color terms that people perceive color spectrum differently. But this is clearly wrong because people use MODIFIERS to distinguish different colors.
Term
The most common color terms to the least
Definition
White and black > Red > Green and yellow > Blue > Brown > Purple, pink, orange and gray
Term
Berlin and Kay
Definition
Discovered that most speakers can recognize differences in color, even if their language does not have different words for them.
Term
Kinship terms
Definition
The various terms to identify relatives on mother's and father's side. The difference between kinship terms amongst languages is an instance of language reflecting culture (how much emphasis is placed on the nuclear / extended families and mother's / father's lineage).
Term
Kinship terms
Definition
The various terms to identify relatives on mother's and father's side. The difference between kinship terms amongst languages is an instance of language reflecting culture (how much emphasis is placed on the nuclear / extended families and mother's / father's lineage).
Term
Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax
Definition
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, myth that snow is so important to Eskimos that they have N (hoax - large number) words for "snow". But in reality - (1) Eskimo refers to the range of languages such as Inuit,Yupik... (2) Words are how to define (root / base / morpheme...)
Term
Pullum's argument to Eskimo Hoax
Definition
Claims that horsebreeders have various names for breeds, sizes, and ages of horses; botanists have names for leap shapes; printers have different names for fonts... the number of words for "snow" in "Eskimo" is not that interesting.
Term
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - false beliefs
Definition
Implies that there is no reality, or actual categories in the world, except for the ones imposed by our language and culture. (e.g. Matrix) If this belief is true, then we can rank languages according to their effectiveness in expressing MODERN thoughts and say that some cultures are more primitive than others.
Term
Thought doesn't depend on Language
Definition
E.g. Deaf adults - display many abstract forms of thinking
E.g. Babies can do simple arithmetic problems
Term
Can animals think?
Definition
They don't have language but they have some form of thoughts. E.g. Monkeys can identify their family and relatives.
Term
Can thought exist without language?
Definition
Yes, some people think through visual images / mental images. We have concepts that are not expressed through individual words. There are words that are (1) ambiguous but we can still interpret the meaning that the author intends, (2) Lack of logical explicitness, we use our common sense to come into conclusion (3) co-reference, treating different terms as the same thing and (4) delixis - specification of a and the (5) synonymy
Term
How can language be represented in the mind?
Definition
People often forget the exact wording of something they read, but they can convey the gist of it by providing a summary. We can also convey our messages through logical and visual representation.
*Mentalese - representation of thought of mind
Term
Arbitrariness of the sign
Definition
conventional pairing of a sound with a meaning
Term
Discrete combinatorial system
Definition
Finite number of discrete elements (words) are sampled, combined, and permuted to create larger structures (sentences) with properties distinct from those of their elements
Term
Grammar, autonomous from cognition
Definition
A grammar is a certain set of rules that tells you how words may combine to express meanings. But this set of rules is independent for the particular meanings that people convey to each other.
Term
Finite systems vs. infinite combinations
Definition
Grammar as a discrete combinatorial system can generate an infinite number of sentences. However, the size of our brain is limited. We cannot simply memorize all the sentences available.
Term
the way language works
Definition
each person's brain contains a lexicon of words and the concepts they stand for (a mental dictionary) and a set of rules that combine the words to convey relationships among concepts (a mental grammar).
Term
Intuitions about grammatically
Definition
ungrammatically is simply a consequence of our having a fixed code for interpreting sentences. Native speakers of English recognize strings that are interpretable, but are not grammatical and also strings that are grammatical but are not interpretable (also see autonomy)
Term
How does language work?
Definition
A non-answer (Memorization of a huge number of sentences), a possible but wrong answer (sentences are generated through word-chain device) and phrase structure grammar
Term
Memorization
Definition
Speakers would simply memorize some (mysterious) relationship between sentences and meaning based on the look-up table.
Term
FSA
Definition
Finite State Automaton - Word Chain Device, think of a sentence as a chain of words and a speaker as a device which consists of a finite number of mental predisposition (state) Each state is associated with a rule that allows the speaker to produce a word and move to a new mental predisposition.
Term
FSA problems / examples
Definition
(1) Grammatical Category (POS) we do not learn which word follows which other word. Rather, we learn which grammatical category (parts of speech: noun, verb...) follows which other category. (2)Has no real memory and it cannot process long distance dependency (e.g. either or, if then), too much redundancy and we need unlimited number of states to handle all these long distance dependencies with FSA, but these number of states won't fit in our finite brain.
Term
Phrase Structure Grammar
Definition
A sentence is not a chain but a tree.
Term
Constituency
Definition
Grouping of words into phrases / a mental symbol (in the text)
Term
Phrase structure rules generate...
Definition
Constituents - speakers learn a finite set of phrase structure rules (phrase structure grammar) which can generate infinite set of sentences.
Term
Evidence for Constituency (1)
Definition
Yes-no Question formation rule - we move the auxiliary verb of the sentence in front of the subject NP, we have to identify a group of words that belong together as the subject of the sentence. We can't do this without knowing how the pieces of the sentence are grouped together - constituency.
Term
Evidence for Constituency (2)
Definition
Ambiguity - Lexical and structural ambiguity. Lexical (the meaning of a sentence may be ambiguous due to the words in the sentence is ambiguous) and structural (the individual words are not ambiguous but the source of the ambiguity is structural - e.g. i shot an elephant in my pajamas)
Term
S
Definition
NP + VP
Term
VP
Definition
V + NP (sentence) or VP + PP (preposition)
Term
NP
Definition
(Det) A* N or NP + PP
Term
PP
Definition
P + NP
Term
Recursive Rules
Definition
have one instance of a symbol in the left side of the arrow, and another instance of the same symbol in the right side of the arrow, allowing the generation of an infinite number of sentences. (e.g. NP -> NP + PP)
Term
Nested long distance dependencies
Definition
Handled with recursive rules, deals with either or and if then, if we put another sentence in a sentence
Term
Universal Grammar
Definition
common grammatical properties shared by all languages, e.g. basic principles of phrase structure grammar
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